Cllrs Samir Dwesar (Purley & Woodcote) and Gayle Gander (Kenley) met with Sergeant Tony Brown, the sergeant responsible for both wards (as well as Old Coulsdon and Coulsdon Town) and his colleague PC Ollie Middleton at Lord Roberts on the Green in Woodcote this week.
As ward councillors, we are very keen to work closely with the local police and support them where we can. During our meeting, we discussed several topics, including speeding, drugs, catalytic converter thefts and police resourcing issues.
We were reassured to hear that crime stats for both our wards are generally encouraging but recognise the enormous pressure the local police continue to be under as well as the concerns of residents on several crime-related issues.
Sergeant Brown and his team are ramping up engagement with local community groups and businesses and are keen to see a more diverse resident presence at Safer Neighbourhood Team ward panels. They also highlighted the success of their recent catalytic converter marking event at Tesco and plan to hold another one on Wednesday 19th July which we will try to join.
If you would like to attend future Safer Neighbourhood Team ward panel meetings, please email [email protected] or [email protected] to find out more. The next Purley Ward Panel meeting is on Tuesday 18th April, at 7pm at St Swithun’s Church. The next Kenley Ward Panel meeting is at 6.30 on the same day Tuesday 18th April, at Old Lodge Lane Baptist Church.
You can also follow them on twitter @MPSPurley_Wood or @MPSKenley.
